The opening weekend of A-League Women was a resounding success, with record crowds attending the domestic competition in the wake of the Matilda’s World Cup effort.
A crowd of 5,735 attended the F3 derby between Central Coast and Newcastle, a regular season record that was broken just a few hours later in Sydney, when Sydney FC beat the Western Sydney Wanderers in front of a massive crowd of 11,471 people – an all-time crowd record for the competition.
The previous all-time crowd was last year’s A-League Women grand final, when 9,519 attended to see Sydney FC’s 4-0 win over Western United.
The Sydney derby, played at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, was significant because it was the homecoming match of Cortnee Vine, the Matildas hero most known for her winning penalty in the FIFA World Cup quarter-final shootout against France.
The boost in crowd numbers for the opening weekend of the A-League Women competition follows the incredible effort of the Matildas just months ago at the FIFA World Cup. The Australian side made it to the semi-finals, the furthest of any Australian team in a World Cup, and brought millions of Australians along for the ride.
Every Matildas match played in Australia during the World Cup sold out, while television viewership records were continually broken throughout the tournament. The semi-final was the most-watched sporting event nearly two decades and the most-watched television program of the 2023. The support thrown behind the Matildas changed the standing of women’s sport in Australia.
This massive impact is now having a flow on effect for the A-League, where a number of Matildas squad members are playing this season.
Sydney FC Captain Natalie Tobin said it was fantastic to play in front of such a large and energetic crowd in the team’s opening match of the A-League season.
“Both teams really fed off the atmosphere,” Tobin said.
“I’d love to think this new benchmark has set the standard for what’s ahead and we continue to get good crowds across the league.”
Meanwhile, A-League Commissioner Nick Garcia said he was delighted to see the boost in crowd numbers.
“Our plan for the FIFA Women’s World Cup started more than two years ago and today, we have three new women’s teams in the league, a full home and away season of 22-rounds, and an unprecedented 198% growth in memberships across the league,” Garcia said.
“Playing the opening round in mostly major stadia was part of a strategy to create new experiences and connect with more fans, and we are delighted to see the round record broken on day one, in just two matches.”
Fromer footballer and commentator Grace Gill said it was a joy to see the interest in domestic women’s football.
“17,000 fans in one day for the Liberty A-League. That’s eyes on our game. That’s eyes on these wonderful players… (these) are really momentous times in our game.”
Feature Image: Cortnee Vine.